Which prospects stood out at Rangers rookie camp
The New York Rangers rookie camp will conclude on Tuesday with one final practice at the MSG Training Center slated at 12:15 ET.
Many of the 24 prospects that were invited will likely transition to the main camp when it opens later this week in preparation for the team’s first exhibition game of the season. That just happens to be this coming Sunday on the road against the Boston Bruins at 5 PM.
Several players certainly stood out and two of them desperately needed to put their best foot forward. Defenseman Matthew Robertson and winger Bobby Trivigno led the Blueshirts kids to a sweep of their Philadelphia Flyers counterparts this past weekend in the Rookie Series.
Let’s examine which prospects certainly earned a serious look before the 2023-24 NHL season begins.
Related: Three prospects that must impress at rookie camp
New York Rangers Rookie Camp Stand Outs
Before we begin, here’s the full list of invites:
Forwards: Maxim Barbashev, Brett Berard, Adam Edstrom, Karl Henriksson, Ryder Korczak, Bryce McConnell-Barker, Max McCue, Luke McNamara, Brennam Othmann, Sahil Panwar, Matt Rempe, Dylan Roobroeck, Adam Sykora, Bobby Trivigno
Defensemen: Joe Arnsten, Seth Barton, Ty Emberson, Ryan McCleary, James Petrovski, Matthew Robertson, Brandon Scanlin
Goalies: Talyn Boyko, Dylan Garand, Olof Linbom
For more details on each player click here.
Rangers rookie stand outs
As mentioned previously, Robertson and Trivigno led the way by playing excellent two-way hockey. In the first game, Robertson’s goal and assist helped beat the Flyers 4-2. That was followed by a two goal performance from Trivigno in a 3-1 victory to end the series.
Robertson paced all Rangers rookies in scoring with a goal and two assists in the series. Trivigno had two points and a handful of players picked up a point including highly-touted prospects Brennan Othmann and Adam Sykora (both notched an assist).
Aside from the names mentioned above, Ty Emberson was also rock solid paired with Robertson. It was also good to see Brett Berard, Karl Henriksson, and Ryder Korczak making their presence felt.
One very big prospect, and I mean literally big, that made the Flyers feel his presence was 6-8, 240 lbs forward Matt Rempe. The Rangers selected him in the sixth round of the 2019 Draft and ever since then he’s shown a willingness to play hard physical hockey. That was on full display when he dropped Zayde Wisdom with a single punch in the opening period of the first game setting a tone for the entire series. Rempe, 21, registered 10 points in 53 games as a rookie for the Hartford Wolf Pack last season.
Another player that may deserve a longer look is Luke McNamara, who got the party started in game two with an unassisted wraparound tally. The 18 year-old forward went undrafted this past summer and the Blueshirts are seriously considering adding him to their prospect pipeline. McNamara scored 27 points in 67 games for the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit in 2022-23.
Finally, goalie Dylan Garand picked up right where he left off with the Pack in the Calder Cup Playoffs. After a decent regular-season, the 21 year-old netminder was outstanding with a 5-3 record, 1.76 goals against average, a .935 save percentage and 2 postseason shutouts. Garand made 32 saves going the distance in the opening win versus the Flyers.
Rangers rookies that will likely not make main camp
Of course, there’s several prospects I believe will be heading back to their junior clubs including Maxim Barbashev, Bryce McConnell-Barker, and Dylan Roobroeck up front. On the backend, Joe Arnsten and James Petrovski are unlikely to make the main camp.
In goal, the Rangers could very well bring both Talyn Boyko and Olof Linbom in for some extra work but that remains to be seen.
At the end of the day, the Rangers kids all looked very good. That especially feels nice after seeing their prospect pipleline ranked 15th by The Athletic in the summer, giving fans some optimism for the future.
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